Search Results for: label/mistakes/2011/04/making-it

517 results

Moldy Grapes!

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Fermentation, Food
13 Comments
...ing blogger and Make Magazine editor Mark Frauenfelder about how important mistakes are in the DIY life, so here’s two more recent blunders for ya’ll, courtesy of Mrs. Homegrown Evolution. Recent failure #1: Inedible Pickled Grape Leaves We have grape leaves. Lots of them. Our two table grape vines are a little hesitant to really bust out, but our native grape (Vitus californica) has taken over the entire south facing wall of our garden, and is th...

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Homesteading Disasters: The Skunk Menace

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Mistakes
17 Comments
Franky, I think our mistakes are more interesting and educational than the high-horse blog posts we typically churn out. I’m hoping, in fact, to collect our misadventures into a little booklet of homesteading disasters. To that end, I’ll periodically write about the latest problem around the Root Simple Compound starting today with how fun it is to garden with skunks. Angry red arrows mark skunk dig sites in our new keyhole bed. I know that I’ve...

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On Shoddy Workmanship

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Design, Mistakes, Thoughtstylings
13 Comments
...ot to be confused with perfectionism. A craftsperson is not afraid to make mistakes, to fail and to learn from setbacks. But to cut corners and know you’re taking an easy shortcut is to fall into halfassitis mode. William Morris said, “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” Morris’ craftsmanship was a reaction to the newly industrialized world. I can’t think of a better role model for countering...

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How to Size a Breakfast Nook Table

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Design
2 Comments
...of. This conclusion comes from 20 years of horrific breakfast nook sizing mistakes. Our first table was the same length of the bench. It was difficult to get in and out of and caused considerable complaints. Version 2.0 of the table was considerably shorter. So short, in fact, as to be useless. A lightbulb went off in my head when I discovered this table in the 1925 Pacific Ready-Cut home catalog. Not only did it seem just the right proportion bu...

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102 Beekeeping Controversies With Susan Rudnicki

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Animals, Bees, Podcasts
6 Comments
.... Why most advice is pro-treatment. Keeping feral stock. Africanized bees. Mistakes. How often to inspect. Swarm prevention. When to take honey in a Mediterranean climate Dodgy bee removal services. The “Complete Idiots Guide to Beekeeping.” What’s wrong with package bees? The difference between swarming and absconding. That Flow Hive thingy. Darwinian concepts in beekeeping. “Scientific” beekeeper Randy Oliver’s change of opinion on feral stock:...

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